Comunitat Oberta (Open Community). Networks and tools to promote public integrity at the local level (ESVAC0003)

Commitment ID

ESVAC0003

Commitment Title

“Comunitat Oberta” (Open Community). Networks and tools to promote public integrity at the local level of the Comunitat Valenciana and make the good municipal practices of open government visible

Problem

In the Comunitat Valenciana, there are different administrations with which the citizens relate, and 542 municipalities with very heterogeneous characteristics and realities. In recent years, progress has been made in the regulatory framework of transparency and good governance, with obligations for all administrations, and open government practices have been developed in many entities. However, there are many small administrations with few resources for which it is more difficult to comply with obligations and incorporate open government structures and tools, and progress is uneven.

For this reason, support measures are needed to make it easier for local entities to fulfil their obligations and advance in open government, as well as collaboration and coordination between the different institutions to adopt coherent and effective policies in the Comunitat Valenciana. In addition, due to the existence of so many different administrations, with their corresponding portals and channels, it can be difficult for citizens to access all the open government resources or find out about the initiatives that are being carried out.

Status quo

In recent years, cooperation instruments have been developed to advance open government at the local level. The creation of a permanent collaboration framework that includes provincial councils, the FVMP and the Generalitat stands out. This framework seeks to share and coordinate open government public policies at the local level.

Along with this, the Municipal Participatory Governance Network has also been promoted to foster good participation practices of local governments and encourage collaboration and the exchange of experiences.

Within the framework of these spaces and instruments, measures have been carried out for years to promote the advancement of open government throughout the territory. We must highlight the annual calls for grants for open government projects from local entities and the Participa-Acció awards, which seek to make good practices of citizen participation visible.

Law 1/2022, of April 13, of the Generalitat, of Transparency and Good Government of the Comunitat Valenciana, and the Draft legislation of participation and promotion of associationism, which is in process, also affect collaboration with the local Valencian sphere.

Action

“Comunitat Oberta” consists of the implementation of networks and tools to promote public integrity at the local level of the Comunitat Valenciana and make visible the good municipal practices of open government, in order to make the culture of open government involve all administrations on common bases, make it easier for local entities to adopt instruments to advance in integrity and improve citizen access to all information.

To do this, there will be a search engine and a map on the GVA Oberta transparency portal that allows users to easily and visually consult the open government resources of local entities. In this way, they make open government practices visible and it is easier for citizens to access information from all entities from a single point.

A collaboration agreement will also be adopted between the Generalitat, the provincial councils, the FVMP, the Valencian Antifraud Agency and the University of València to collaborate and channel actions aimed at improving the integrity of local entities, within the framework of the Law on transparency and good governance and with the collaboration of the Valencian Antifraud Agency and the University of València. Within the promotion of good integrity practices, the digital tool for transparency of the Generalitat's interest groups will also begin to be used in the field of local entities with the adhesion of the València City Council.

How will the commitment contribute to solving the public problem described above?

The commitment is intended to provide a response to the problems identified in the implementation of open government at the local level.

On the one hand, the open government map of GVA Oberta will allow easy and visual access to the open government resources and tools of local entities, which helps to make these practices visible and, also, make it easier for citizens to access these resources from a common point.

On the other hand, the collaboration agreement between the institutions to coordinate and channel the actions of the different institutions aimed at building integrity frameworks at the local level will be the basis for the definition of a common model of integrity policies at the local level and will allow orienting support actions to the different realities of the local sphere.

In addition, by providing tools to local entities to improve accountability, such as the tool for transparency of interest groups, the efficiency of the administrations and the use of public resources are favoured, and so are accountability and citizen access to information in a common registry.

What long-term goal as identified in your Open Government Strategy does this commitment relate to?

This commitment is directly related to the long-term vision of open government in the Comunitat Valenciana. On the one hand, it is in line with building its own shared model of open government development that includes the local sphere through alliance and collaboration between the main institutions that have an impact in this area. In addition, it directly affects the long-term objective of rooting the culture of open government throughout the territory and in the administrations of the Comunitat Valenciana, on common bases.

It also contributes to the vision's broad conception of open government, as it includes both transparency and participation as well as public integrity. Likewise, the possibilities of digital applications are taken advantage of to democratise the institutions, since these applications facilitate citizen access to all information and allow the adoption of new accountability tools at the local level.

Primary Policy Area

Lobbying, Right to Information

Primary Sector

Public Services (general)

What OGP value is this commitment relevant to?